openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: WhatsApp outbound send broken after update to 2026.3.13 — "No active WhatsApp Web listener" despite channel showing connected [3 comments, 3 participants]

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openclaw/openclaw#48990Fetched 2026-04-08 00:50:04
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Version: 2026.3.13 (updated 2026-03-16) OS: Linux 6.8.0-101-generic (x64)

Error Message

Error: No active WhatsApp Web listener (account: default). Start the gateway, then link WhatsApp with: openclaw channels login --channel whatsapp --account default.

Root Cause

Version: 2026.3.13 (updated 2026-03-16) OS: Linux 6.8.0-101-generic (x64)

RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

Bug type

Regression (worked before, now fails)

Summary

Version: 2026.3.13 (updated 2026-03-16) OS: Linux 6.8.0-101-generic (x64)

Description

After updating to 2026.3.13, WhatsApp outbound messaging is completely broken. Inbound messages work fine. The channel reports as fully connected but all send attempts fail.

Error

Error: No active WhatsApp Web listener (account: default). Start the gateway, then link WhatsApp with: openclaw channels login --channel whatsapp --account default.

Channel status

openclaw channels status reports: WhatsApp default: enabled, configured, linked, running, connected

Logs

Gateway logs show clean listener startup with no errors: [default] starting provider (+447814728054) Listening for personal WhatsApp inbound messages.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Update to 2026.3.13
  2. Restart gateway (or reboot machine)
  3. Attempt any WhatsApp outbound send
  4. Error returned despite channel showing connected

What was tried

  • Multiple gateway restarts (soft SIGUSR1 and full stop/start)
  • openclaw channels login relink
  • Full machine reboot (including phone)
  • All result in same error

Expected behaviour

Outbound WhatsApp messages should send successfully when channel status shows connected.

Notes

Was working correctly on the previous version before the 2026.03.16 update.

Steps to reproduce

Version: 2026.3.13 (updated 2026-03-16) OS: Linux 6.8.0-101-generic (x64)

Description

After updating to 2026.3.13, WhatsApp outbound messaging is completely broken. Inbound messages work fine. The channel reports as fully connected but all send attempts fail.

Error

Error: No active WhatsApp Web listener (account: default). Start the gateway, then link WhatsApp with: openclaw channels login --channel whatsapp --account default.

Channel status

openclaw channels status reports: WhatsApp default: enabled, configured, linked, running, connected

Logs

Gateway logs show clean listener startup with no errors: [default] starting provider (+447814728054) Listening for personal WhatsApp inbound messages.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Update to 2026.3.13
  2. Restart gateway (or reboot machine)
  3. Attempt any WhatsApp outbound send
  4. Error returned despite channel showing connected

What was tried

  • Multiple gateway restarts (soft SIGUSR1 and full stop/start)
  • openclaw channels login relink
  • Full machine reboot (including phone)
  • All result in same error

Expected behaviour

Outbound WhatsApp messages should send successfully when channel status shows connected.

Notes

Was working correctly on the previous version before the 2026.03.16 update.

Expected behavior

cron should send WhatsApp

Actual behavior

Version: 2026.3.13 (updated 2026-03-16) OS: Linux 6.8.0-101-generic (x64)

Description

After updating to 2026.3.13, WhatsApp outbound messaging is completely broken. Inbound messages work fine. The channel reports as fully connected but all send attempts fail.

Error

Error: No active WhatsApp Web listener (account: default). Start the gateway, then link WhatsApp with: openclaw channels login --channel whatsapp --account default.

Channel status

openclaw channels status reports: WhatsApp default: enabled, configured, linked, running, connected

Logs

Gateway logs show clean listener startup with no errors: [default] starting provider (+447814728054) Listening for personal WhatsApp inbound messages.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Update to 2026.3.13
  2. Restart gateway (or reboot machine)
  3. Attempt any WhatsApp outbound send
  4. Error returned despite channel showing connected

What was tried

  • Multiple gateway restarts (soft SIGUSR1 and full stop/start)
  • openclaw channels login relink
  • Full machine reboot (including phone)
  • All result in same error

Expected behaviour

Outbound WhatsApp messages should send successfully when channel status shows connected.

Notes

Was working correctly on the previous version before the 2026.03.16 update.

OpenClaw version

2026.3.13

Operating system

Ubuntu 25.10

Install method

npm global

Model

anthropic-sonnet-4.6

Provider / routing chain

openclaw

Config file / key location

No response

Additional provider/model setup details

No response

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

Impact and severity

No response

Additional information

Version: 2026.3.13 (updated 2026-03-16) OS: Linux 6.8.0-101-generic (x64)

Description

After updating to 2026.3.13, WhatsApp outbound messaging is completely broken. Inbound messages work fine. The channel reports as fully connected but all send attempts fail.

Error

Error: No active WhatsApp Web listener (account: default). Start the gateway, then link WhatsApp with: openclaw channels login --channel whatsapp --account default.

Channel status

openclaw channels status reports: WhatsApp default: enabled, configured, linked, running, connected

Logs

Gateway logs show clean listener startup with no errors: [default] starting provider (+447814728054) Listening for personal WhatsApp inbound messages.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Update to 2026.3.13
  2. Restart gateway (or reboot machine)
  3. Attempt any WhatsApp outbound send
  4. Error returned despite channel showing connected

What was tried

  • Multiple gateway restarts (soft SIGUSR1 and full stop/start)
  • openclaw channels login relink
  • Full machine reboot (including phone)
  • All result in same error

Expected behaviour

Outbound WhatsApp messages should send successfully when channel status shows connected.

Notes

Was working correctly on the previous version before the 2026.03.16 update.

extent analysis

Fix Plan

To resolve the WhatsApp outbound messaging issue, follow these steps:

  • Downgrade OpenClaw to the previous version:
    1. Uninstall the current version: npm uninstall -g openclaw
    2. Install the previous version: npm install -g openclaw@<previous-version>
  • Update WhatsApp Web listener configuration:
    1. Run openclaw channels login --channel whatsapp --account default to relink WhatsApp
    2. Verify the WhatsApp Web listener is active: openclaw channels status
  • Restart the gateway:
    1. Soft restart: SIGUSR1 or openclaw restart
    2. Full restart: openclaw stop and openclaw start
  • Test WhatsApp outbound messaging:
    1. Send a test message using WhatsApp
    2. Verify the message is delivered successfully

Example code to update WhatsApp Web listener configuration:

openclaw channels login --channel whatsapp --account default
openclaw channels status

Example code to restart the gateway:

openclaw restart
# or
openclaw stop
openclaw start

Verification

To verify the fix, check the following:

  • WhatsApp Web listener is active: openclaw channels status
  • Outbound messages are delivered successfully
  • Gateway logs show no errors related to WhatsApp Web listener

Extra Tips

  • Regularly check for updates and release notes to ensure compatibility with WhatsApp API changes
  • Monitor gateway logs for any errors or issues related to WhatsApp Web listener
  • Consider setting up a cron job to periodically check and restart the gateway if necessary

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FAQ

Expected behavior

cron should send WhatsApp

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